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Photo: Abbie Pitre

With a bold and buoyant vulnerability, Genevieve Stokes' latest single “Habits” invites us into a mercurial world of teenage growing pains. The Maine-based singer, songwriter, and pianist first established herself as a fresh figure on the alt-pop stage with the release of her 2021 EP Swimming Lessons, introducing listeners to her soulful voice and emotionally raw lyrics. Now, a year later, the 21-year-old is back after teaming up with producer Tony Berg (Taylor Swift, Lorde, Phoebe Bridgers). 

At just over two minutes long, “Habits” describes the incessant back and forth of conflicting wills in more ways than one. As the song begins, a jaunty piano promptly expands into a meandering waltz, and there is a no-nonsense steadiness to this first part of the track that grounds Stokes’ floating vocals. “Habits I’m trying to kick, can’t get over it / Lovers, I hate to admit, are the ghost of it,” she sings. With these words, the lighthearted instrumentals and sprightly pace give way to a softer and more beseeching reality of lovelorn patterns the singer just can’t seem to break. 

“I wrote ‘Habits’ in my parents’ garage last spring – my favorite time of year to make music. The lyrics are my stream of consciousness, flowing from feelings of self-pity and boredom to my worries about an emotionally turbulent relationship. It’s about longing for change after a dark winter,” shares the rising singer-songwriter.

Whether the love she sings of brings more pain than pleasure isn’t fully divulged, but there’s a mounting sense of frustration and fatigue at the “on again, off again” pendulum of her relationship that becomes unmistakable once the chorus hits. Her voice, at first soft and controlled, leaps into the sweeping strokes of a pleading refrain, cascading fluidly and freely over lyrics like, “You go and I stay / It's always right person and wrong way.”

Sonically, Stokes manages to alternate between moments of quiet tenderness, playful self-exasperation, and raw pain, reflecting the same swing of contradictory emotions found in her lyrics. And true to teenage angst, we get the sense that these swings can’t help but be related to the turbulent transition from adolescence to adulthood as she sings, “I'm growing up, but I'm not growing old / And I hate to do anything that I've been told.” 

In one sweet and succinct track, “Habits” tells the story of a relationship on loop, describing the push and pull between hopeful naïveté and resigned futility… or maybe just between teenage whim and burgeoning responsibilities. Here’s to hoping that Stokes channels more of that whim into songs as lush and dynamic as this one as her story continues to unfold.

Watch the "Habits" visualizer below: